‘They got KD, we got Jaden McDaniels.’ This comment made by Anthony Edwards was the funniest remark going into the 2024 postseason— it soon became the fodder for trolls across NBA Twitter. However, it wasn’t as funny after the Timberwolves started winning games against the Phoenix Suns. It became a prophesy after Minnesota swept the Suns’ Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal in the first round.
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It’s pretty clear after the T-Wolves’ 117-115 victory at Golden 1 Center on Thursday night that McDaniels is still the heart of the Minnesota side’s defense. Edwards once again did a great job of shouting out his teammate during a locker room interview after the game.
Reporters asked Ant what the T-Wolves did differently late into the third quarter to find their footing back in the game. Edwards admitted that they were doing a poor job defensively the whole game. During a time-out in the third quarter, the 23-year-old had the chance to think about their defensive woes in the game.
“We call timeout. I came to the huddle and say, ‘Our defense f**king sucks right now.’ We are letting [guys] blow by, go right, go left, lay up,” Edwards said.
Minnesota had a four-point deficit going into half-time. They had lost both of the first two quarters to the Kings. The third quarter was the first one they won (34-29) and looked like they were back in last season’s form. The tightening of the defense did the trick. Edwards thought that it all started after McDaniels checked back into the game.
Anthony Edwards on what made the Wolves defense get back to looking like it did last season:
“When Jaden checked back in, he gave me that look, he gave me that seatbelt look — and it was on from there.” pic.twitter.com/udTxxvg9gv
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) October 25, 2024
“When Jaden checked back in, he gave me the look. He gave me that ‘seatbelt look’ [as in fasten your seatbelts]. And he was on from there. It was on from there,” Ant added chuckling.
McDaniels didn’t have any crazy numbers to show after the game. He had six points, three assists, two rebounds, and a block, in 27 minutes. However, he brought that stifling energy back into the floor, making the offensive players uncomfortable with his long arms ready to contest shots.
The T-Wolves won both the third and fourth quarters. The Kings didn’t have a 30-point quarter in the second half.
Thursday night’s win brings up the T-Wolves’ record to .500—they were 0-1 down after their Opening Night loss to the Lakers. Chris Finch will now look to consolidate the team’s defensive powers to win the next few games on the trot.
The Timberwolves’ defense won them games last season
Minnesota had the best defensive rating in the NBA last season with 109. Their top defender Rudy Gobert won the Defensive Player of the Year award as well. But what really impressed fans was Minnesota’s defense in the postseason.
After beating the Suns in the first round, they faced some tough competition in the second round against the then defending Champions, the Denver Nuggets. But the McDaniels-led stifling defense of the T-Wolves barely allowed the likes of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to get proper shots in.
The suffocating defensive locks did the trick for them in the end.
This season, they will look to emulate their success. McDaniels will look to better his 2023-24 defensive rating of 111.5 as well. It’s safe to say that the T-Wolves’ success will hinge on their defensive output this year.
